Microsoft, Salesforce mutually settle patent litigation

Microsoft and cloud services company Salesforce.com have put an end to a patent infringement lawsuit that was already months in the making.

Exact terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but each side will end up paying licensing fees to one another.

Salesforce specializes in customer relationship management (CRM) software for businesses, and Microsoft alleged that some of its services infringed on patents that it owned.

Salesforce then turned around and said the same thing about some of Microsoft's CRM software. This week's settlement will put all disputes behind them.

"Microsoft's patent portfolio is the strongest in the software industry and is the result of decades of software innovation. Today's agreement is an example of how companies can compete vigorously in the marketplace while respecting each other's intellectual property rights," said Microsoft deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez.

Salesforce, meanwhile, said in a statement, "Salesforce.com is pleased to put this litigation behind us."